Glace Stars

She's all done! One year to piece, but only two weeks to quilt and bind. And I only had to unpick the borders and sashing in one corner, not once, but twice to deal with a bit of excess.

It's another gorgeous sunny day in Melbourne, but the grass is still damp, so we did a very quick photo shoot on the front lawn. Apologies for the little spots of bright sunshine.

Each block and the centre star are quilted with a fleur de lys type design, a similar four-pointed design in the cornerstone blocks and some feathery stuff around the center medallion. Stippling in the sashing and border.

Quilting Ideas: 2009 FQS Mystery BOM

I've been sitting on the quilt for quite some time, and I've even had the backing and batting sitting by also. But I just haven't had the mojo to quilt it! I've pieced the backing today so I'm getting closer to being ready.


Any suggestions for quilting design? I was thinking a feather design or similar for each of the blocks, stipple in the green sashing...but what for the little stars and the centre? I've only seen one other quilted so I'm a bit lost for inspiration, and this quilt really deserves to be finished.

2009 Designer Mystery Block of the Month

All I can say is wow. I really like the way this quilt has come together, and it looks fantastic. And it's huge, which will make quilting interesting.

The extra borders seem to have pulled the sashing taught where the two smallish blocks are, so by the time its quilted, it won't be noticible at all. I can only guess that my accuracy improved over the course of the last 12 months...

BOM 12!

Finally, here we are at the last block. Has it been 12 months already?!

Now to assemble the quilt; I've got all the 'bits' ready to go, but I've found one minor problem....some of my blocks are a tad smaller than they should be. Most are only a fraction but block 2 is about 3/4" too small. It means a fair bit of 'easing' but hopefully any little wobbles in the sashing eases out by the time its quilted. You can see the puckered sashing in the top row, near the legs of the coffee table...

(not enough room on my lounge room floor, so all the blocks are a bit squashed up)

Which won't be for a little while as I still need to quilt Summer Wind, and finish Port-de-France. So much for my old method of only ever having one project on the go at a time! The main reason I keep putting off the quilting is that I hate spending money on batting...silly, I know.

I made my first fabric sale yesterday. It's safe to admit there was a bit of squealing and jumping going on in my house. I expect business to start slowly, but each little bit of progress is so exciting.

BOM 11

My sewing machine has finally returned, and BOM block 11 is all stitched up. The points of the brown fabric haven't worked at all; I've never stitched two pieces together where the angle of the seam is different, so that was a bit of a boo-boo, but I figure it'll add character.

My machine has also come home with a new voice; I'm not sure if that is normal post-service, but she has had her belt reset which could explain it. She may have even sounded like this when I got her, but for ages she has been deep "voiced" and rattly, so this new higher hum is change...

Now I'm ready to stitch the next border on Summerwind, and start assembling the BOM finishing kit. See you soon!

Climate Change

It was a lovely 28 degrees up in Queensland yesterday, and I've come home to an overcast 15 degrees in Melbourne today. Makes me wish I could move up there for the winter! I had a good break; spent my mornings eating muffins and drinking hot chocolates, and spent time at the beach, as well as catching up with family. A new baby arrived to one of my mum's cousins while we were there, however we didn't get to meet him.

As I'm still (very impatiently) waiting to get my sewing machine back, there isn't too much going on here. I've spent today cutting all the fabric for the Mystery BOM finishing kit. Lots of pieces but it looks pretty simple to put together. I'll be ready to piece like crazy when I get my machine on Wednesday.

I'm also finding that the finishing kit, along with each of the monthly packages, has a lot of spare fabric. This will be a test of my stash/scrap busting skills! I've seen a few people are working on quilts from "Scrap Basket Suprises" and I think this might be a good book to add to my collection. The fabrics used in the book aren't my cup of tea, but I'm sure they would look great in anything.

BOM 10

Can you belive we are up to block 10 already! If I don't get a wriggle on and quilt the few quilts I've got sitting around, I'm going to end up having one long quilt-fest once this one is done. This one is quite a cute block, designed by Joanna of Fig Tree Quilts.

BOM 7

I'm all caught up now! A stunning block to look at, and really easy to put together.

I was also a bit of a naughty girl...I bought the "Frosted Windowpanes" kit from the FQS last week, but in my defense, it was on sale! It will mean two large quilts in Glace, but they are very different so I think I can justify it :-)

BOM 6

A little behind thanks to being away, but I got the mystery BOM block 6 cut and pieced in one day. Another cute block...and half way now!

BOM4 and Some Shopping

While today is my day off, it's been pretty slow in terms of any sewing progress... All I've managed to do is assemble block 4 from the FQS Mystery BOM.

I also spent up big on a large order of Moda's Simple Abundance, which has finally been released. For the last few months I've been very well-behaved, and abstained from purchasing fabric for any new projects (thanks Bec), and instead motivated myself to work through the stash of "to-do" projects that I already had tucked away.

However, the new patterns and fabrics out have been just too tempting (have you seen A La Mode?), so I've caved. Three new projects should keep me entertained for a while! Plus, its only 7ish weeks till I go on holidays...

BOM3 and Raspberry White Choc Muffins

Block 3 of the FQS Mystery BOM was nice enough to arrive today on my day off, and I've already got the block together. I spent all morning de-ivy-ing the garden, so I figured some theraputic sewing was a good reward for all the hard work.

This one looked quite complicated, but was actually quite simple to put together, and it looks pretty good.

I also made some divine Raspberry and White Chocolate muffins, with the following recipe:

In one bowl, put 2 cups plain flour, 2 tsp baking powder, and 3/4 caster sugar.

In a second bowl, put 1 cup sour cream, 2 eggs and 1/3 cup vegetable oil. Whisk together.

Stir liquids through flour/sugar until just combined.

Then add 1 1/4 cups raspberries (fresh or frozen) and 3/4 cups chopped white chocolate.

Stir very briefly to prevent toughening of muffins.

Divide into 12 1/2 cup muffin tins, and bake at 180C until cooked. The recipe says 12 min but I found 20 worked for me.